The Ministry of Finance is considering a set of Customs Law amendments to hone procedures for vehicle customs clearance, sources said. The amendments would also impact Egypt's car assembly industry. Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros-Ghali, in a statement on Saturday, said his ministry will introduce new regulations for temporary customs clearance to prevent abuses of the current system. The ministry may reduce the period of temporary clearance of vehicles from 6 months to 2 months, he added. A fee will replace the traditional two-month suspension of customs. The owner of the car will also be able to have his car warehoused for a third month for free until it is exported, according to the new regulations. Boutros-Ghali said three months is sufficient for expatriate Egyptians and tourists making short visits to Egypt. Egyptians with dual citizenship will not be subject to the new regulations. The ministry is also considering granting car assembly factories temporary customs clearance for micro-buses. The move aims to enable the factories to learn how to manufacture the vehicles. Galal Abul Fotouh, ministerial advisor for customs affairs, said the ministry is also examining the possibility of imposing fines--four times larger than the fee paid to suspend the payment of clearance customs--on violators of the new system. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
